Thursday, 29th and Friday 30th August. A day of organisation and our first day back on the road.

Thursday

A relaxing day. We were in very nice surroundings. A modern apartment with Poki parked right outside the door. Dennis quickly managed to get the last box back on the roof, we unpacked all the belongings we had bought with us and set everything up as we like it. A visit to the nearby supermarket to stock up and we were pretty much ready to go, in a leisurely manner.

Friday. Day 1

After our usual porridge for breakfast, we transferred everything from the apartment fridge to the fridge in Poki, gathered up our last minute possessions and were off at 0930. A quick visit to another supermarket to get Dennis some more walnuts, then we were on our way.

Not a good start. The sat-nav twice tried to take us the wrong way up one-way streets. Google maps and the sat-nav kept wanting to take us in different directions. This wasn’t boding well at all. However, traffic was very congested and what both systems were trying to do, I think, was take us quicker ways avoiding the snarl ups.

The route out of Cartagena took us through a street jammed packed with stalls selling fruit and veg on one side and a river on the other. Masses of pelicans and herons. Very slow, but fascinating. Eventually we saw a sign pointing to a town in the direction we wanted to go. We were on track! 

It took us and hour and ten minutes to leave the urban sprawl of Cartagena. It was a main road and in great condition. We commented that it felt like being back in Africa with similar shack like buildings, but with a good road. However, this didn’t continue. Having the sat-nav programmed to take us the fastest route, we took some shortcuts on African type pot holed roads. I get a bit anxious if I feel the sat-nav might be making mistakes. However, we arrived at our destination without any problems. I have to learn to trust her.

During the course of the day we experienced red roads – main roads, yellow roads – secondary roads, but well surfaced and white roads which can be anything. Dirt or a mixture of concrete and potholes. Now at least we know what to expect from our map. We have covered 168 miles and u paid 28,000 in tolls, about £6.

The landscape was pretty flat. A few plantations of palm oil, but mainly beef cattle farming. Brahmin being the breed. Many horses too. Interspersed among the farms are huge areas of water with lillies, water hyacinths and many other aquatic plants. The water must be teeming with fish as there are so many herons. It is all very green and lush.

Tonight we are camped at a Finca (farm)I found on iOverlander in Cienaga de Oro. It is a small holding with a menagerie of animals. Goats, pigs, hens and dogs, including a small, very naughty puppy which keeps trying to chew the tent guy ropes and anything else it can find. We are on a patch of grass with a bathroom, with shower and toilet behind us. 

Cute but pesky puppy

We had to refresh our memory when putting up the tent. It was unbearably hot. The sweat was just pouring off me. It seemed to cool down a bit, but after we had cooked a meal in Poki, it was even hotter. I don’t know how I will sleep, if it remains over 30 degrees, which our thermometer says it is at the moment at 20.30 this evening. 

Tomorrow we are heading for Medellin, but will break the journey somewhere. Having looked at iOverlander this evening, there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of camping between here and the city. We might have to find a cheap hotel instead. Medellin is an interesting city, so we would like to spend a couple of days there?

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